Two comments from the perspective of somebody who grew up in San Diego.

Randy Hahn (currently the TV voice of the San Jose Sharks) was a GREAT soccer announcer for the San Diego Sockers. I still can't watch a Sharks game without thinking about soccer and San Diego. So good soccer announcers do exist and there is no requirement for having a thick british or irish accent.

You were talking about wanting to watch Tony Gwynn in his prime and wondering if it would be as fun as it sounds. I can answer that with a definitive yes. I had the privilege of seeing him hundreds of times in person and many many more times on TV or listening on the radio. He was the kind of player that if you only saw him infrequently you could easily mistake his hits for luck. He didn't typically hit laser beams or moon shots. But seen regularly you would start to see the pattern and realize that - hey he absolutely MEANT to softly slap the ball right through the 5.5 hole. And it would happen again and again and again and as the pattern dawned on you you could only shake you head in amazement. There was nobody else who could hit it where they ain't like number 19.